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“When I was just thirteen, I spent my time in school practicing my autograph instead of doing math. I'd be drawing stage setups, amps, and drums, where I'd put speakers and drawing the first Fender guitars I saw.”~Graham Nash

In 1992, I was asked to donate a personal item for an auction that was being held by a local school near my home in the Hawaiian Islands to raise funds for the school's athletic gear that was destroyed by the ravages of Hurricane Iniki. I had a photograph of my friend, Joni Mitchell, which I had taken some years before. I thought it would be a good choice. In an effort to make it a little more special, I thought I'd handwrite the lyrics to the chorus of my song "Our House" around the margin of the photograph.

On the night of the auction, I was very pleased to watch this piece raise several thousand dollars for the children at the school. Afterward, I approached the woman who had purchased the piece and told her I was genuinely overwhelmed she would pay so much for the photo with the chorus of my song on it. She smiled and said, "Mr. Nash, you make a mistake. You may think this is your song, but this is really my song. Years ago, my boyfriend put this song on the turntable, dropped down on one knee, and then proposed to me. Now I have a piece of that song and a moment that I'll cherish forever."

This incident was instrumental to the inception of our company, Manuscript Originals. It so clearly and simply illustrated to me that music truly touches more than just people's hearts; it affects our lives in ways that are indescribable. I am still amazed by the intensity of feelings that get stirred up in me when I hear the music I grew up with. So many of the key moments in my life have songs that serve as their emotional landmarks. My recollections of becoming a young man are flooded with the colors and the music of those years. I've always felt the same is true for all of us.

Songwriting has always been one of the most effective ways I communicate. There've been plenty of times when I've been asked about my songs and someone will say, "How did you write that?" And quite honestly, I never really have any idea. All I know is that songs are the most powerful tools imaginable and they serve to bring us all to a place where we can experience shared memories and emotions. Manuscript Originals was established to celebrate the work of great songwriters throughout the world and to honor classic songs that continue to endure throughout time.